John w



t vUNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CANCELINGrSTAMP.

Specification forming part ot' Letters Patent N0. 45,708, dated January3, leti.

To all '1l-hom it may concern l-Se it known that I, JonN W. FOSTER, of

' the city and county lot' Washington, in the `I)istrict ot' Columbia,have invented a ne\v and Improvedj Canceling-Stamp; and I do herebydclare the following to be a full and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings,1 making part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedsta-mp. Fig. 2 is a face or end view thereof. Fig. is a longitudinalcentral section in the line x. Fig. 4 is a transverse section in theline y y. Fig. 5 is a detached view exhibiting in elevation the annularcutter or punch hereinafter referred to.

This invention relates to a canceling-stamp `which is ehiey designed toconstitute a me'- dium whereby postage and other stamps may beett'ectually defaced by being cut or punched in such a. way that anattempt to detach the stamp from the envelope to uhich it isl appliedwill invariably produce the separation or detachmentt'rom said stamp ofthe portion which has been cut out by the knife, or leave anineitaeeable mark therein. This cutting or punching ot' a stamp, if thelatter be the object to be so out or punched, may be effected after ithas been applied to the envelope, without the latter being penetrated orits centen ts injured.

The invention consists in a. novel manner of gaging thecutting-instrument so as to limit the depth of its penetration, as willbe hereinafter iully described; also, in a novel manner of locking typein the stamp. v

In order that others skilled in the art te which my invention appertainsmay be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a metallic ca sing or socket,Within which is fitted an annular cutter or punch, C.

B is an adjustable gage fitted to slide. 1ongitudinally within the punchC and pressed outward by a spiral spring, I).

E is a set-screw limiting the distance to which the gage B may bepressed in While in use. This stamp may be provided with a handle, A',and operated by hand, or it may be used in a lever, steam, or otherpress.

In using it the internal gage, B, strikes the surface of the paper firstand recedes until its upper end comes against the set-screw E. The gagethen arrests the further penetration of the punch C, and thus limits thedepth to which it can cut.

By regulating the retraction ofthe gage B by the adjustment ot theset-screw E the punch may be made to cut through one, two, or three ormore thicknesses of paper, as de sired, with the greatest accuracy, oreven to produce an inett'aceable mark on the paper Without-penetrating asingle thickness. lt is therefore ot' great value on its application asa postage stamp canceler, as with a proper adjustment of the gage thepunch may be made to eiect-ually destroy the posta ge-stamp without apossibility of injuring the contents of the envelope or even penetratingthe envelope itself.

F is a set-nut, against which the upper end ofV the punch C is made tobear, and which provides'means for adjusting the punch itself.

This nut may be used in connection with or instead of the adjustmentofthe gage B. The adjustment of the nut F will regulate the distance towhich the punch C projects beyond the face a ofthe casing A, and thuslimit the penetration ofthe punch.

G represents an annular gum-elastic spring, which, while permitting theadjust-ment of the punch, constantly forces the latter upward againstthe set-nut F, and thus retains it in an immovable conditioniafteradjustment. Either Vmode of adjustment may be used Without the other, orthey Vmay be used together. In the latter case, however, it is needfulto maintain the adjustment of the gage B relatively to the punch C, andfor this purposeV the set-screw E of the gage is made to work vin theset-nut F ot' the punch. lt is appar. ent that the gage B on assumingits normal position after it has been forced upward, when the stamp isin operation, will eject any paper that may have lodged within thepunch. The adjustment of the punch may also be made to compensate forthe Wear thereof.

Any suitable lettering or device may be engraved on the face a ot' thecasing A, and movable type maybe set in an annular cavity within theface a, said type being encircled by the engraved lettering, as shown inFig. 2.

To ada-pt the type to. be changed and 'a larger "or smaller number ofthem to he inserted, as

well as to enable them to be properly looked,

I' employ adjustable metallic blocks H II, which are retained within'the typecavity by screws l I, but which, having slots h lL .for thereception of the ends of the screws, are

, free to move around Within the type-cavity contiguous surfaces of theblocks H H are so formed as to receive the point of the screw betweenvthem when they are in Contact with each other. Hence, when the screw Jis turned, it acts as a wedge and forces the blocks 'apart until theyproperly lock the type which may be set up within. the cavity.

I do not limit myself to any prescribed forni of knife or gage, or anyspecific inea-ns for adjusting the one in relation t0 the other.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I'elaim asnewtherein and desire to secure .by Letters Patent:

1. A canceling-stamp provided with an annular cutter, C, and aninternalgage, B, either one or both adjustable in relation to each other,substantially as and for the purposes Setforth.

2. The combination of the double set-screws E F with the cutter G andgage B, f'or the pur'- pose specified.

JNO. W. FOSTER. Witnesses:

OeTAViUs KNIGHT, CHARLES D. SMITH.

